The Truth About Printing Labels On Laser Printers - Not The Right Tool For The Job!

We have all heard the statement that “we need to use the right tool for the right job”!

That being the case, the question to be asked is — why so many people use laser printers to print labels in higher volume applications vs. Thermal Label Printers which are designed specifically for printing labels ? The answer is — many people are not familiar with thermal label printers , or are under the misconception that they need to spend a lot of time and money on software reprogramming to change their labeling applications from laser printers to thermal label printers.

More than two million thermal label printers are now installed in the United States. The technology is quiet, very simple, and highly reliable.

There are several major manufacturers of thermal label printers , such as the industry leaders Zebra , Datamax O’Neil , SATO , Intermec and Printronix as well as some new comers such as TSC. Also, changing the code within a program is very simple using many of the newer label making applications that are now available, or getting the assistance from the manufacturer of the printer themselves. Most have developed the code already that can be dropped into your existing applications.

The following are some of the clear advantages of Thermal Label Printers vs. Laser Printers:

• No toner required in a thermal label printer. Some thermal label printers , such as a thermal transfer printer use low cost ribbons. Other thermal label printers , such as direct thermal printers , do not use any ribbons. However, in both cases, the cost savings of toner vs. a ribbon is compelling.

• Print only what you need. Thermal technology enables you to print single, one off labels versus sheets of labels. This is one of the essential label printing efficiencies of thermal technology. The amount of wasted labels using laser technology can be tremendous and costly.

• Energy efficiency. Energy savings using thermal label printers is typically over 50% over using laser printers. That translates into major cost savings and is a green, sustainable advantage of thermal label printers over laser printers.

• More reliability. There are less moving parts in a thermal printer than a laser printer. This translates into bottom line savings in the cost to maintain thermal label printers vs. laser printers.

• Flexibility. In difficult applications, such as where the label may be exposed to rain, heat, cold, and sunlight, the image quality will not be damaged if the label was printed by a thermal transfer printer.

If you have any more questions about using thermal label printers , you can always call us at (800) 643-2664 or chat us up on Facebook , Twitter , Google+ and LinkedIn !

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